After the historic gold medal won in Quebec last year, Vyacheslav Bykov's team will try to repeat themselves this year in Switzerland.

Team Russia has prepared rather well so far, playing three friendly matches and the Euro Hockey Tour last stage in Czech Republic. In the last preparation game, won 5-1 against Hungary, Bykov tried the NHLers that will be in the roster: Kovalchuk, Bryzgalov, Kalinin, Volchenkov, Frolov and Grebeshkov. Not all of them will have top line duty, as usual, but it looks like Phoenix Coyotes' Ilya Byryzgalov will be the starting goalie, with Kovalchuk and Frolov playing in the second line, centered by Diynamo Moscow's Zinoviev. The roster looks as usual like the most talented in the pool, at least regarding the forwards, and any result different from the gold medal will be considered as a failure. On a side note, probably Vyacheslav Bykov is cheering hardly for the New York Rangers as just another win by the New York team would mean featuring Aleksandr Ovechkin and Aleksandr Semin in the lineup.

Goaltenders
Russian goaltending line looks solid, featuring an NHL veteran and an IIHF WC veteran too. Ilya Bryzgalov, who played a very good season in Phoenix, did play with Team Russia in the past, but he didn't in the last few seasons. Eremenko will be his backup, at least for the first group stage, then Bykov might count on another couple of players coming from an early NHL playoff exit: Semen Varlamov and Evgeny Nabokov. As far as now Nabokov is on pole position, being both players' team on the edge of the elimination, but things might change is one of the two players can arrive early and Bryzgalov and Eremenko won't delivery.

Defense
A good mix of grit and talent, Russian defense looks good but not great. The defensive corps feature both offensive and defensive kind of blue liners coming from KHL and NHL. Volchenkov is among the awaited players as he didn't had many chances to represent his motherland with the national team, even if he played in the last Olympic games. The other two "North Americans", Grebeshkov and Kalinin, were in the Qubec roster last year. The preparation matches hinted that they will play in the bottom lines, as the top four spots were taken by Nikulin, Proshkin, Vishnevsky and Tverdovsky. The eight defenseman is Metallurg's Vitaly Atyushov, who didn't play last season because of an injury.

Forwards
The team's strongest area, the forwards will have the rather simply task to score as much as possible to run the score. If the games will be high scoring, no other team can match Bykov team's offensive talent and scoring touch. And it can look scary for the opponents if Ovechkin and Semin will be freed up after a Rangers victory. The team captain will be once again Aleksei Morozov, who will play as first line right wing with his team mate Danis Zaripov and Ufa center Aleksei Tereschenko. The second line will be a text book trio made up of 2008 hero Ilya Kovalchuk, center Sergei Zinoviev and Aleksandr Frolov from Los Angeles. In the third line Konstantin Govorikov will be the pivot between Oleg Saprykin and Aleksandr Radulov, a troika that played very well throughout the whole year. Bykov will have the luxury to ice as fourth liner Perezhogin and Kuryanov, with Mozyakin scratched for now, with the board waiting for the NHL situation being clarified. This year the team won't count on Maksim Sushinsky. Unfortunately, the years pass for everyone.

With such a roster Russia has all what it takes to win it all once again, and things can only improve if an early exit from the NHL playoff will free up Ovechkin and Semin. As stated, any achievement below the gold medal will be labelled as a failure.

  RUSSIA's 2009 IHWC ROSTER

Goaltenders
01. Aleksandr Eremenko, Salavat Yulaev Ufa
30. Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix Coyotes (NHL

Defense
03. Vitali Vishnevsky, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
05. Ilya Nikulin, Ak Bars Kazan
06. Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa Senators (NHL)
07. Dmitri Kalinin, Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
27. Vitali Atyushov, Metallurg Magnitogorsk
37. Denis Grebeshkov, Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
45. Vitali Proshkin, Salavat Yulaev Ufa
70. Oleg Tverdovsky, Salavat Yulaev Ufa

Forwards
16. Aleksandr Perezhogin, Salavat Yulaev, Ufa
19. Anton Kuryanov, Avangard, Omsk
21. Konstantin Gorovikov, SKA, St. Petersburg
23. Aleksei Tereschenko, Salavat Yulaev, Ufa
24. Aleksandr Frolov, Los Angeles Kings (NHL)
25. Danis Zaripov, Ak Bars, Kazan
42. Sergei Zinoviev, Ak Bars, Kazan
47. Aleksandr Radulov, Salavat Yulaev, Ufa
71. Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers (NHL)
91. Oleg Saprykin, CSKA Moscow
95. Aleksei Morozov, Ak Bars, Kazan